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Open Access. Powered by Scholars. Published by Universities.®

2006

Law and Gender

Journal

Capital punishment

Articles 1 - 2 of 2

Full-Text Articles in Law

Race, Gender, Region And Death Sentencing In Colorado, 1980-1999, Stephanie Hindson, Hillary Potter, Michael L. Radelet Jan 2006

Race, Gender, Region And Death Sentencing In Colorado, 1980-1999, Stephanie Hindson, Hillary Potter, Michael L. Radelet

University of Colorado Law Review

This paper examines the administration of the death penalty in Colorado. We first identify all cases (n=21) in which defendants were sentenced to death in Colorado, 1972-2005, and all cases (n=10) in which the death penalty was sought, 1980-1999. We then compare the race and gender of all homicide victims with the race and gender of victims in the 110 death penalty cases. Overall, we find that the death penalty is most likely to be sought for homicides with white female victims, and that the probability of death being sought is 4.2 times higher for those who kill whites than …


Intimate Homicide: Gender And Crime Control, 1880-1920, Carolyn B. Ramsey Jan 2006

Intimate Homicide: Gender And Crime Control, 1880-1920, Carolyn B. Ramsey

University of Colorado Law Review

The received wisdom, among feminists and others, is that historically the criminal justice system tolerated male violence against women. This article dramatically revises feminist understanding of the legal history of public responses to intimate homicide by showing that, in both the eastern and the western United States, men accused of killing their intimates often received stern punishment, including the death penalty, whereas women charged with similar crimes were treated leniently. Although no formal "battered woman's defense" existed in the late 1800s and early 1900s, courts and juries implicitly recognized one-and even extended it to abandoned women who killed their unfaithful …